The present invention generally relates to inclinometers, and more particularly to an inclinometer suited for use in vehicles, comprising a sensor provided in a main inclinometer body which reads and detects relative displacement of a sector weight according to a Gray code provided on the weight so as to detect any inclination of the main inclinometer body.
In a conventional inclinometer, a weight constantly hangs vertically regardless of the inclination of a main inclinometer body. Such a conventional inclinometer was provided with an indicator dial which rotates according to the inclination of the weight with respect to the main inclinometer body. However, if this conventional inclinometer is used to measure the inclination of an automobile with respect to the front and rear thereof, for example, a rotation transmitting mechanism comprising various gears must be used to display the relative rotation of the weight by the indicator dial, because in this case, a relative rotating plane of the weight and a rotating plane of the indicator dial are perpendicular to each other. For this reason, the mechanism of the inclinometer became complex, and this conventional inclinometer was deficient in that it was impossible to downsize the inclinometer. Furthermore, because the display is achieved by the rotary indicator dial, the result obtained by detecting the inclination could not be obtained as an electrical signal, and there was a disadvantage in that it was impossible to obtain digital display of the inclination.